Cowboy Poetry Gathering and Buckaroo Fair starts Tuesday

Poetry? Jeff Carson thought he hated poetry. All he remembered were those boring poems he had to read in school. Then, since he lives in Heber, he attended the annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering and Buckaroo Fair.

"I laughed so hard I nearly fell off my chair," he says. "I'd cowboyed all my life, so I knew this. It wasn't poetry, it was storytelling that rhymed."

That was eight years ago, and he's been hooked ever since. He's even started writing his own cowboy poems. This year, Carson will again be among the participants in the 14th annual gathering, which takes place in Heber Tuesday through Nov. 9.

In addition to Carson and other local cowboy poets, the gathering will feature some of the top performing acts in western entertainment, including Michael Martin Murphey, Ian Tyson, Red Steagall, Tom Russell, Wylie & The Wild West, the Bar J Wranglers and cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell. There are nine major concerts in all, and nonstop cowboy poetry.

There will also be a ranch rodeo and horse versatility show, Eddie Deen's famous East Texas BBQ, multiple Cowboy Express Trains, and a dinner and show at Zermatt Resort. Clinics will be offered on colt starting, horse and mule driving and fiddle and guitar playing, not to mention a vendor's fair with arts, crafts, cowboy gear and more. There will be a Mountain Man camp, and things will finish up on Sunday with a Cowboy Church.

This year's souvenir poster was done by Robert Duncan, and there will be a souvenir CD with poems and songs from all the artists.

What started out as a one-night event at the Midway Town Hall has grown into a major gathering that attracts national attention.

"It was named last year by some magazines as the best in the country, even above the national gathering in Elko," Carson says. "We get visitors from all over the country."

And for good reason, says Mike Kirkwood, who is in charge of putting together some performances by selected members of the Cowboy Poets of Utah, an organization of local writers and performers.

"We have some very, very good local poets," he says, "and this is a good venue to showcase them." The whole phenomenon of cowboy poetry — "that's what we call it because that name is instantly recognized and you know just what to expect, but it's really much broader than that" — is growing, Kirkwood says.

There's even a group of youngsters who will be featured Saturday morning. "You'd be amazed at what those little guys can do," he says.